What is stopping you from launching your side project or great idea?

What stops us?

1. Time
   • Adjust your priorities
   • Begin coding to get in the mood for coding
   • Get people to code with you
   • If you're coding for yourself it doesn't have to be the prettiest code in the world
   • Find a balance between nice code and code that pisses you off to work on later... Code that you angers you to work on can effect follow through

• Lack of resources
  • Online freelancers
  • Offer internships to people who need them
  • Collaborate with others
• Legal fear (moonlighting)
• Fear of being judged/it not being finished
  • "It's never done"
  • Closed betas
  • Invite groups of people who might be interested from forums and such
  • Psudonyms - Hide your real life identity
  • "Haters gonna hate"
• Nobody cares?
• Distraction
• Lack of energy
• Lack of interest
• Lack of structure (not knowing where to start)
• Premature optimization
• Not wanting to fail
• Financial security
  • Risk aversion - To be successful you need to invest resources, but this can be difficult for financial security
  • Realize that the time you've invested has already actually been a lot of money (your time is worth money!) and so putting more money isn't as bad as you think...especially if you believe in it.
  • The best way to learn is to try. "The first time will probably fail, so make it cheap."
  • Try reading marketing books to help you learn how to sell yourself - they'll teach you how to brand your produt too
• Lack of passion
• Lack of follow through
  • Peer pressure
  • Get a partner - be accountable to someone else

What are your blockers?

• No resources / Finding talent
• Perception of "not good enough"
• Fear of poor code / being in the spotlight
• No time
• No discipline when working on own projects
• Enterprise culture against moonlighting
• Tried before and failed
• Lack of security (where's my next paycheck)
• Distractions
• Finding a project that you're passionate about
• Follow-through / Finishing
• Financial risk-aversion
• Need interaction to keep interest
• Not knowing where to start

How can we counter these blockers?

No resources / Finding talent

• Use online freelancers
• If you're in city with major universities, consider offering an internship
• Collaborate w/ competitors?
• Talk to people in the community

Perception of "not good enough"

• Deploy a closed beta
• Create feedback groups
• Afraid of ruining a reputation? Consider testing the waters with a pseudonym.
• Reset your expectations of market reaction
• "Haters gonna hate"
• Is the criticism valid? That's a good thing. Take it in stride and improve your product.

No time

• "No time" means you consider it a lower priority
• Block time out to work on it
• Starting is the biggest hurdle
• It can feel like you need a big chunk of time to start, when really that is just an excuse. Start small.
• Utilize Coworking sessions. It's easier to make time if you commit to working in a group setting, even if everyone is working on different things.

No discipline

• Tendency to skip parts

Financial risk-aversion

• Set a budget. Contribute small amounts.
• Read marketing eBooks. Understand the small steps that are needed to create a marketing/advertising plan.
• Consider partnering w/ an evangelist for equity
• Make a plan
• There's a perception of advertising as "scumbaggy". Be genuine.

Follow-through / Finishing

• Use it internally